Defence manufacturers from 55 countries, including the US, Russia, the UK, and China, are participating in an arms fair which kicked off here on Tuesday.

The 12th International Defence Exhibition and Seminar (IDEAS) 2024, organised by Pakistan's Defence Export Promotion Organisation (DEPO), will continue till Friday.

The event was inaugurated by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif under a heavy security blanket at Karachi’s Expo Centre with more than 350 high-level delegations from 55 countries, including the US, Russia, China, Turkiye, Iran, Italy, the UK, and Azerbaijan, attending the event.

The government has imposed a ban on gatherings across the Karachi division as part of security measures for the four-day expo.

A member of the organising committee said some 560 defence manufacturers, 333 of them international, will be showcasing their defence and military products, with Turkiye and China being the biggest participants.

“There are some 75 exhibitors from Turkiye followed by China which also has over 50 delegations,” he said.

Iran and Italy are participating in the arms fair for the first time.

The exhibition is held biennially by the DEPO and has in the past drawn a lot of interest as it also allows Pakistan to showcase its domestically produced defence products.

This year, Pakistan is showcasing its Haider Main Battle Tank (MBT) and new medium-altitude long-endurance Shahpar III drone, aside from Al-Khalid and Al-Zarrar tanks and the latest model of the Super Mushshak Aircraft.

Defence Minister Asif said at the opening that Pakistan’s defence industry has reached the threshold of quality and reliability, with its products competing in the international defence market.

He described IDEAS as a regional gateway for international manufacturers and suppliers to explore new avenues of defence cooperation through joint ventures, outsourcing and collaboration.

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